Fireworks
by Coral
Summary: Cosmic Acknowledgement


Fireworks By Coral  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount, as usual, owns all.  
Dedication: For Annie, because she suggested we go to see the fireworks.  
  
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On a little ledge, high above the San Francisco bay and with a view to die for, Kathryn Janeway sat. Her hair, which had been immaculately coiffed only an hour before, was escaping the tight twists that held it in place. Instead, strands framed her face, which was flushed from exertion.  
  
It had been a bit of a climb.  
  
Of course, she shouldn't be there. Neither should her companion, one tanned and reasonably good-looking gentleman who had once described himself as an angry warrior. But then, that was the beauty of it, wasn't it? After the days and weeks of endless questions and briefings and reports and interviews and justifications and questions and questions and justifications and more questions, it felt good to be nowhere in particular, doing nothing in particular, and answering to no one in particular.  
  
She squeezed the hand holding hers. It had been his idea to make a break for it during the official celebration Starfleet was holding. Tired and not caring about anything much anymore apart from getting away from it all, she hadn't put up more than a token protest, and the two had managed to escape fifteen minutes later without being apprehended. Kathryn felt a bit like a teenager, playing truant from school.  
  
It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling. But maybe the company helped. Not that he'd said much since they arrived up here. They had admired the view instead, only really talking to point out a particular feature or landmark they found interesting. Even now, over two years later, the bay still held the scars of the Breen attack and the emerging landscape was slightly different to the well-established one that had preceded it. It was still beautiful, though. And bathed in the light of the setting sun, the buildings seemed to shimmer and shine. Kathryn sighed, content.  
  
"Almost perfect," Chakotay said as the sun sank behind the horizon and twilight took its place. It was quite late in the evening as it was only a few days after the summer solstice.  
  
"Thank you for suggesting it," Kathryn said gratefully. "You don't know - well, I suppose you do know - how much I needed to get away from everything. Seeing everything from up here does help re-establish a sense of perspective, doesn't it?"  
  
Chakotay nodded and they lapsed back into that comfortable silence. There was a gentle breeze, but the night was clear. The stars were starting to appear in the darkening sky, and Kathryn could see several of the man-made satellites and stations that were catching the sun's light too. It was nice to back with this familiar night sky, Kathryn reflected, the star systems of the Delta Quadrant far behind her.  
  
The only constellations she had ever grown accustomed to in the Delta Quadrant were those of New Earth. They had often lain under the stars, talking to start with, but it never lasted long. Soon they would drift into quiet reflection, the stars reminding them of what they had been, and what they thought they might never be again. Kathryn used to wonder which of those stars Voyager was currently passing...  
  
She knew where Voyager was now, docked at the Utopia Planetia shipyards. She looked up, searching for Mars. Chakotay, following her gaze, realised what she was looking for and smiled to himself.  
  
The setting of the sun had left a distinct chill in the air. Kathryn hadn't come dressed for this, and she snuggled closer to Chakotay in an attempt to keep from shivering. His arms enfolded her naturally, and she felt more at home than she had at any time since the day she stepped off Voyager onto Earth's soil.  
  
"So, what would make it perfect?" she asked lazily.  
  
"Hmm?" Chakotay shook himself out of his own thoughts to attend to her question.  
  
"Earlier, you said almost perfect. Is something wrong? Has something happened?" She wondered if he had had bad news, and hoped it wasn't that. She wasn't sure how much more bad news he could take, however stoically he seemed to bear it for the most part.  
  
"Oh, that." He returned his gaze to the vista before them.  
  
Kathryn waited in silence for a few moments before realising that he wasn't gathering his thoughts, but was losing - or trying to lose - himself in them again. "Chakotay? What would make it perfect?"  
  
He looked down at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "This," he said simply, and kissed her. Although surprised, she kissed him back.  
  
It ended when they realised they had to breathe at some point, and Kathryn sat back with a vaguely disappointed look on her face. "Is that it?" she finally asked.  
  
Chakotay gaped, not sure whether to be insulted, or confused, or what. Of all the hundreds of possible reactions to their first kiss that he had ever imagined, 'is that it?' had not been anywhere near the top of the list. Or the bottom. Or even as a runner-up to the list. He really hadn't seen that one coming. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to work out what to say. "Excuse me?" he got out at last, even if his voice did sound a little strangled.  
  
"It's just... well... it's stupid, but..." Her voice trailed off.  
  
"Oh, no, you don't. You are not stopping there, Kathryn Janeway. If I have to keep you on this ledge until you tell me, then the spirits help me, I'll do it." As there was only one way up and down and Chakotay had an irritating habit of being even more stubborn than herself when the occasion called for it - not to mention being considerably larger - Janeway didn't doubt for a minute that he would make good on that promise.  
  
"I just expected that there would be, well, you know... fireworks. Earthquakes. Or flashes of lightning. Or alarm bells. Or something. You know how it is in all those films Tom insisted on showing us, in all the holonovels, and..." She gave a wry smile. "You've got to admit, after seven years of waiting for it, there ought to be some sort of..."  
  
"Cosmic acknowledgement?" Chakotay supplied with a grin.  
  
She looked put out for a moment, and then laughed merrily. "It's silly, isn't it? Thinking the universe will sit up and take notice just because I, the great Captain Kathryn Janeway, finally kissed her First Officer."  
  
Chakotay pretended to consider this for a moment, trying not to laugh. "No, doesn't sound silly to me at all," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe we just did it wrong. We could try it again, if you like."  
  
"I suppose we could. As an... experiment, right?" She had barely finished the sentence before their mouths found each other...  
  
... and fireworks exploded in the sky over the bay.  
  
She pulled away quickly. "Please tell me I didn't imag-" Kathryn's sentence was left unfinished as another series of rockets shot up, exploding noisily and prettily over the water. "Okay, I didn't."  
  
"The end-of-party fireworks," Chakotay realised.  
  
"I was supposed to be setting those off as guest of honour," Kathryn sighed. "I guess they continued without us." She looked thoughtful. "Strange, how they chose that exact moment..."  
  
Chakotay just grinned. "If that's what kissing does, I can't wait to see what happens when-"  
  
END 


End file.
